I have lived in Utah my whole life and have travelled to Moab 20+ times. It has grown larger and more popular than ever. Moab, Utah is home to not one but two national parks: Arches and Canyonlands. Both absolutely stunning.
Usually when I go to Moab, I am camping with my family and friends and dogs. Because dogs are not allowed in the national parks ( at least not on any trails) we like to stick to dog friendly hikes in the area. However if this is your first time in Moab, You’ll surely be visting at least one of the national parks. Arches is the most popular of the two, and the nearest to the town of Moab. Canyonlands is a bit further away but not by that much, maybe 30 miles.
Arches is filled with, you guessed it, ARCHES! The entry system to get into the park has changed recently to accomodate the influx of visitors to the area. Their website here gives instructions and information about entry to the park and other useful information.
Canyonlands is a park filled with hikes to jaw dropping, breath taking CLIFFS. I’m serious, it will take your breath away, Literally! I am terrified of heights.
Both parks are 100% must do’s for your first time to Moab. I would plan to spend at the minimum at least one full day in each park, hiking and taking in the views. There are some great resources on different hikes in the parks online or you can check out the visitors centers inside the parks for park maps and directions.
I’m going to tell you about a few of my favorite hikes outside the parks, that are dog friendly, as well as some of the other things to see, do and eat in Moab.
Lets start by talking about the best times of year to visit Moab. Spring and Fall are the best seasons because the temperatures are cooler outside. In the summer Moab can get over 100F or 38C and higher. I once camped in Moab in June and the temps got up to 104F and it was a bit miserable to sleep at night only cooling off into the 90s F. I don’t recommend this unless you are prepared with all the correct camping gear and a boatload of water to drink. Speaking of water, I’m going to reccommend that when hiking in Moab you bring a camelbak ( water bladder) on your hike with at least (minimum) of 3L of water per person and more depending on length of hike and outside temperatures. You can never have too much water in the desert. SERIOUSLY!
Beacause spring can be so busy with the annual Jeef Safari event, I recommend going in the fall. You’ll find accomodations to book easier and the temperatures will be cooling down. Early October is a great time to visit.
I’ve even visited for my birthday in early November and had decent weather, if a bit cold. My partner, Kole and I got snowed on that trip while hiking Dead Horse State Park with our weimaraner Ernie. That’s right, it snows in Moab. Welcome to the high desert! 100F+ in the summer and snow in the winter.
Moab has a lot of options for accomodations. There are fancy, bougie, hotels and resorts, all the way down to campgrounds. I personally always camp, but I only live 4 hours away by car.
Other good options for accomodations are The Gonzo Inn, which is right on main street and is a bit more budget friendly. You can also rent townhomes, condos and single family homes on VRBO.com . This is a nice option for families who may want to cook during their trip. At this time I’m not comfortable recommending airB&B because I don’t agree with their policies.
Once you get to Moab, you are going to be hungry. My favorite stop for dinner the first night is The Moab Brewery. They serve standard brew pub fare, sandwiches, burgers, salads, and have locally made beers on tap. Children are welcome here and videos of jeeps 4x4ing on the red rocks play on loop on the TV’s. If you have never seen this it is pretty impressive. If you don’t believe me just google 4×4 jeeping in Moab, and be prepared to gasp!
If you want to take a jeep tour, several companies offer jeep adventures in town. You can opt for guided rides out on the slick rock or if you have your own 4×4 vehicle you can try out some of the beginner off roading trails in the area.
There are beginner friendly jeep trails that lead to arches and gorgerous red rock scenery. I’ve taken my Toyota 4-runner on several of these trails and they aren’t hard to navigate. Just make sure you are choosing beginner trails, and leave the hard trails to the experts. I do have friends who drive the expert level trails and trust me you don’t want to find your vehicle on these trails if you aren’t experienced. Which is why if could be fun to take a guided tour instead.
For lunch I like to visit the food truck park in town. It is open seasonally spring-fall, closed in winter. They have about 14 different food trucks all parked in a lot, so everyone in your group can choose what they feel like eating. Check out the website here.
Other good lunch options are the Moab Diner, serving diner fare like burgers, sandwiches and such. They also have ice cream which is really refreshing when you are finished with a long, hot hike. A “cult” classic in Moab is Milt’s Stop and Eat. Which is a super casual burger joint. This burger place is near a local hike that leads up a stream to a natural waterfall. I’m not going to put the location in this article because the last time I was there it was so crowded. I’ll give you some better, less crowded options for day hikes in the area.
Trailhead Public House and Eatery is another good lunch option and has been highly rated on Americas Best Restaurants Road Show 2024. They serve burgers, nachos, brats, and even pork green chili poutine.
After lunch you should check out Moab Giants. This is an outdoor dinosaur museum. There is a path that leads you in a big circle with life sized dinosaurs along the way. This is a great place to take kids of all ages, even kids at heart like me love it. It is a good way to spend a couple hours. Bonus: Instagram pics with dinosaurs!
My favorite dog/water hike in Moab is the Grandstaff trail. This hike takes you up a stream leading off of the Colorado river, up a side canyon. You will be hiking along the stream bottom, and there is shade on most of this hike. It does get buggy though so remember to bring insect repellant. This trail is dog (and cat, yes I have seen a cat on a leash hiking this trail) friendly. So bring your 4- legged friends on this adventure. Just make sure to bring doggie bags to pick up any waste to pack out. Don’t leave a trace.
This hike is about 1.5 miles to the Morning Glory Bridge. This is a natural rock bridge high above your head at the end of the hike. Sometimes you can even see rock climbers up at the top. You will hike alongside the stream and make several stream crossings, so bring shoes that can get wet, but also have good traction. If you have never hiked on slick red rock, it is slippery!
Watch out for poison ivy that grows along the stream bottom. The BLM website for this hike has good information. Plan about 2-4 hours for this hike, I made the mistake of starting out in the late afternoon once and only made it halfway when it started to get dark and we had to turn around.
I like this hike when it’s hot outside because it is shaded most the way, and does cross the stream so you can cool off your feet in the water. This is a moderate hike, and there is some trekking on slick rock, stream crossings, and some elevation gains. Children can do this hike and I’ve taken my daughter on this hike when she was about 8 or 9 years old and she did fine.
The next trail is not shaded at all, so do this hike in the morning or late afternoon, so that you aren’t hiking with the sun directly overhead. Corona Arch is a hike that leads to an arch that is outside of Arches National Park. This is a dog friendly hike and is pretty popular.
You will need shoes with good traction for this hike, because you are hiking on slick red rock. Also of note, check the weather before hiking in Moab. Don’t hike if rain is in the forecast because there are regularly flash floods that happen when it rains. You don’t want to find yourself stranded on red rock when it’s raining, it gets 100x more slippery and dangerous.
This trail is moderately strenuous -3 miles round trip. There are some cliff edges, in case you are scared of heights like me, there are ladders and cables to hold onto. Most medium to large dogs can scramble up the rock next to the ladder section. If you have a little dog you may have to carry them up the ladder.
After a good hike it’s time for dinner. BBQ at Spitfire Smokehouse and Taps is a good, filling option. They have a variety of brisket, pulled pork, chicken, wings, hushpuppies and sides.
You will surely sleep well after a day of hiking in the sun. For breakfast before leaving I like Love Muffin Cafe or Sweet Cravings Bakery and Bistro. Both have coffee, the nectar of the gods, and breakfast food items.
Before leaving pick up a souvenier at the T-Shirt Shop. Here you pick out a t-shirt to have a design of your choice printed on it. There are a tons of different shirt options from tank tops to long sleeved shirts in a variety of fabric blends. Then pick a design from the 100+ designs covering the walls of the shop. Each design is numbered, so when you decide take your shirt to the employee and let them know which number design you want printed on the shirt. They will stamp the design on your shirt while you wait. My girls love to pick out a shirt as a souvenier each time we visit Moab.
I hope this gets you excited to visit this uniquely beautiful spot Utah. Enjoy
Love, Becky
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